Last year I went on two little trips to London and spent lots of my time dancing underneath tents and in the great outdoors. FOUND Festival was one of the festivals I went too, as it just happened to land on my birthday. This year the festival is set to take place in London’s favourite venue ‘Venue TBA’, in Shoreditch.

What I like about brand is the way they brand themselves, they use bright colours, nice typography and use social media pretty affectively always making sure everything matches up, their is an emphasis on sale but not too much.

Like last years event, there are some of the most established London parties involved, with No Fit State and Love Fever hosting areas alongside FOUND’s main stage. FOUND are also offering a special treat for those who upgrade to VIP, with Krankbrother hosting a Mad Hatters Tea Party. As for the DJs announced, Crosstown Rebels boss Damian Lazarus is the main headline act, with Madga, Moodyman, Bicep, Cassy, Noir and Dense & Pika also listed. As for a new talent I recommend Josh Butler and I have a real spot for Francesca Lombardo – the girls got rhythm, amongst other talents.

See below for images of last years FOUND Festival, images by Sophie Whitfield.

Until 12am on Thursday 30th January I had no idea who Mahaut Mondino was. Half an hour later, I’ve listened to her track Voodoo People at least five times. Mahaut Mondino comes from a creative background (exactly what I like), she was born in Paris quite literally into the art world, her father being an acclaimed photographer, and mother a stylist. She was pretty much destined to become something special!

Voodoo People is the first music Mahaut has released in 2014, after featuring as a vocalist on Supreme Cuts – Gone last year. (You can listen to that below).

You may not have heard the name Josh Butler yet, but it is a name you should remember. The Leeds based DJ and producer sees his latest two track EP ‘No Frills’ signed to Kerri Chandlers MadTech imprint.

There is a rugged stripped back rhythm about No Frills, its build on a classic 4/4, its hypnotic. The menacing synth draws your attention, while the infectious vocals, meander around the drums. It’s designed for the dance floor. Like This is energetic, the snares drive the record while the vocal is repetitive and won’t leave your head…. The beat goes like this.. the beat goes like this.

After the success of Hideout Festival and Parklife Festival in 2013, the teams behind Hideout, The Warehouse Project and Field Day took a step into the Unknown! On September 10th 2013, Unknown Festival was born in ‘Rovinj’. The festival saw a combination of live acts and DJs come together, as Unknown delivered one of the line ups of the summer in a beautiful untouched location that reflected why Croatia is becoming every bodies new favourite clubbing destination. Richie Hawtin, Dixon, Ame, Maceo Plex, Mano Le Tough, Daniel Avery, Four Tet, Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs, Disclosure & Joy Orbison were just some of the names who performed over the four days.

This year, Unknown returns with another fine blend of live acts and DJs announced. If your an Innvervisions and Life & Death fan, you’ll be very happy to see the likes of Dixon, Ame, Henrik Schwarz, Mano le Tough, Tale of Us and Ten Walls (Live) all announced. There are a number of British acts also announced, George Fitzgerald, Dusky, Bicep and Joy Orbison join Seth Troxler, Daniel Avery, Simian Mobile Disco, Optimo, Gerd Jansen on an line up that gets better and better every time you look at it. As for the headline live acts, Wild Beasts, Jungle, Forest Swords join headline act Chvrches.

The festival takes place in September (8-12th), with a number of unique day and night stages, live concerts and boat parties set to take place over the five days. If you need any more convincing, check out the highlights video below, if it’s an oversee’s festival that you have your eyes on this summer, this could well be it…. Tickets start at £129, with accommodation packages available.

Young Turks has announced a brand new imprint named ‘Whities‘ that is expected to focus on the clubbing side of music. The imprint will be run by NTS Radio regular Nic Tusker, who also programmes the Boiler Room. The first release is by Terron, a Milan/London based duo who I’ve not heard of before. (Look out for a discovery article in the future). The release is out on vinyl as a limited edition on February 17th. You can stream A1 below.

Here is my interview with Amos of Waifs & Strays taken from the Ibiza Club News magazine. Check out the full magazine here.

Talk us through the Christmas & New Year period as music artists, there seems to be a lot of travel involved in a very short space of time. Do you get to celebrate the New Year with friends or do the traditional Christmas stuff like cook, pull a cracker and tell an awful joke while wearing a yellow party hat?

When the clock turned 12, we were on the road, with my wife and the driver on the M6 winging it to London. We had a little bottle to toast the New Year, and saw all the fireworks from the motorway – it was kinda fun in a weird way. Christmas was really traditional – family time, lots of food, presents and chilling in the front of the TV. We had a gig on boxing day though, so it wasn’t quiet for long!

You played Fabric and The Warehouse Project on New Years Eve. Both of these clubs have a special atmosphere every weekend, is it that little bit extra special when going into the New Year?

Getting the chance to play a club like Fabric at New Year was such a privilege, its one of the best clubs in the world and consistently delivers week in week out, and new years eve was no different. We also played the main room of Warehouse Project in Manchester on New Years Eve this year so to be able to play at both these two clubs on the same night was something I wont forget!

We have noticed a bit of a gap on your social Facebook page since New Years Eve. Is there any particular reason for this? Still recovering?

Yes, we just decided to have a bit of a break, clear the head, work in the studio. I went away for a free days snowboarding as well. New Years was a long night and the run up over Christmas is always pretty hectic so its good to recharge the batteries a bit.

What’s your opinion on social media with regards to promoting your work in general? Is it something you feel forced to be involved with, or is it something you do enjoy doing and interacting with other artists & your fans?

I don’t know if you HAVE to do it, but social media is a really important in any business these days, especially the music industry. I dont think there are many artists who dont use it. But I really enjoy the interaction with other artists and fans, and am usually pretty active on both Facebook and Twitter. Twitter in more ways than Facebook can be a really good way to engage with people on a one to one basis across the world.

Your name Waifs & Strays describes people who are on the fringe of something. After releases on labels like Hot Creations and Futureboogie to name two, do you still feel ‘Waifs & Strays’ or are you much more comfortable in your surroundings now?

Ha ha, good question! I think when you get used to the travel and playing out regularly you do get more comfortable with the whole process, but to be honest it’s still as exciting as it was a few years ago. The more releases you get I suppose you do feel more part of the scene, but its still a huge buzz to see your tunes released and getting played – I don’t think that will ever go.

What have you got lined up for 2014 and what gigs in the UK have you got lined up where we can see you play?

More of the same. We have some really exciting releases, quite a few collaborations with some really great artists and continuing playing around the UK and further afield. We have shows lined up for Bristol, London, Cardiff, Southampton, Brighton, to name a few in the next few weeks.

Finally, with this being Ibiza Club News Magazine, we have to ask you about Ibiza. When did you first come to the island? What are currently feelings towards the island considering the explosion of electronic music and will we be seeing you on the island this summer?

I first went to the island in 1997. It was really different then, not necessarily better, but different. I love Ibiza, and have been going ever since that first trip, and my feelings are no different now. I dont think that there is any more of an explosion than there was a decade ago, I mean Manumission used to have 10,000 people a week and Amnesia, Pacha, El Devinos, Es Paradis, Eden were all busy all the time. It can get a bad press, but there is nowhere on earth like it…the clubs, the energy on the island, the beauty of it – its really so amazing. Hopefully we will be back there this summer, its a bit early to say what the dates might be but fingers crossed we will be there a few times over the summer!

Tale of Us have put together a Top 10 chart on Resident Advisor (their new website is already splitting opinion). A few of the selections seem to be forthcoming releases in the future, with no previews being online. The Top 10 chart reads and listens like this….